The pantry is nearly finished

We have been trying to get the pantry finished this autumn. It was the last bit of the house that had no insulation, so the wind whistled in under the eaves in winter and straight into the rest of the house.



The above photos show the start of the process. You can see the new ceiling, hiding 200mm of insulation. We have put in a big slate shelf to the left of the door as you go in. The slate was lying around in the garden when we moved in. The walls are ready to be rendered.


This photo above shows the rendered walls, the slate shelves and the newly installed wine rack - not full yet!


The 'boat' shape is the old chimney space. We have dry-lined it, and have converted the original tatty wooden shelves into a smart cupboard (painted white). One day we will add doors to this, with a mesh to allow air but not mice to circulate.


The wall against the house now has the last of the teak we rescued from Salford Uni chemistry labs as a wide shelf right across it, with the freezer underneath, plus storage space and the gas bottles. Doors will need to be made for these bits too some time in the distant future....


The middle shelf contains 4 x 70cl bocals and 4 x 1.5 litre bocals of sloe gin in the making. Gin over here is ridiculously cheap - about 9 euros a litre, but I got some funny looks when I bought enough for this lot the other day - ah! les anglais! Said sloe gin should be just about drinkable around New Year. Won't keep long though....